A vivid, recurring image in Genesis is of Jacob setting up pillars of stone along his journey. In Vayetze -- this week's Torah portion -- we learn just how significant stones are to Jacob. Arriving at the first stop on his journey to Haran, Jacob takes "one of the stones of that place," and puts it under his head when...

Stephen Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, tells the story of a friend who called him in a dither. At odds with his son, the exasperated father asked Covey to intervene. "Stephen, I don't understand my son. He never listens to me!" Covey responded, "Let me get this straight. You don't understand your son because he doesn't...

HAYE SARAH, Genesis 23:1-25:18 When the dramatic events were over, Abraham and Isaac traveled home to Beersheva. So it's surprising that at the beginning of this week's portion, we find Abraham traveling to Hebron to bury his wife. What was she doing there, and why did Abraham make a special journey to arrange her burial? To understand the relationship between...

When the Conservative synagogue Adath Shalom in South Philadelphia closed its doors in 2007, it wasn't for lack of money. The congregation's aging population had dwindled to the point where the synagogue -- which in its heyday had held services three times daily -- could no longer form a minyan, had come to rely primarily on a part-time rabbi and...

VAYERA, Genesis 18:1-22:24 This week's Torah portion contains one of the most famous occurrences of divine punishment, ranking right up there with the flood and the Tower of Babel: the destruction of several cities and the saving of Abraham's nephew Lot. Ask any child which cities were destroyed, and he or she will tell you that it was only Sodom...